The Kindness in Strangers
by SecretPassion21
Summary: Hiei, Gouki, and Kurama once stole the Darkness Artifacts from King Enma. But was it really just the three of them, or was there another accomplice that not even Yusuke knew about..? Who knew that a mere human girl could mean so much? OC, not Yu's sis/cuz
1. Hour of Reconcile

Okay so here's my first story and it's basically about the behind the scenes of how Hiei, Kurama and Gouki stole the Darkness Artifacts. It's very interesting because I used the whole mates thing and the girl they use in the story is human, but later on my other stories (that I'm going to write) she's going to come back! So this isn't a spoof, and I try not to make any of the characters OOC. So please enjoy my story and please don't rate too harshly! ^_^;

The Kindness in Strangers: Chapter 1

Hour of Reconcile---

The woods were unusually quiet for the time of hour that it was. The sun was setting as Kurama, Hiei, and Gouki, stood in a small clearing discussing the plan of action to steal the 3 darkness artifacts, from the almighty King Enma of Spirit world.

Kurama stood silently thinking over how exactly they were going to go about this, "Okay, I think I have the plan of how we are going to get through the security systems, without getting caught."

Gouki smirked a big toothy grin, "Who cares about the damn security systems?" All we have to do, is kill all the guards that get in our way..."

Kurama sighed, "Must we always have to revert to violence?"

Hiei growled, his red eyes glaring, "I dont give a damn how we get in there. I just want to get those artifacts as quickly as possible."

Kurama nodded reluctantly in agreement, "Very well. When I went to Spirit World to investigate the security systems and locks, I noticed how easy and simple it was to get through. Plus, I found that at 6 o clock, there were less guards on standby..."

Gouki rolled his small vicious eyes, "Like I said before, who cares about the guards?"

Kurama continued, ignoring the large ogre, "But, I'm afraid we have a problem..."

Hiei and Gouki quickly snapped to attention, "What do you mean?"

Kurama narrowed his bright, emerald eyes, "You see, as I inspected the way into the vault room, I noticed some odd inscriptions. I went ahead and wrote down a piece of the writing." He took out a piece of white folded up paper out of his magenta uniform pants pocket and carefully unfolded it. He held it up to their faces, "Tell me, can either one of you identify this language?"

Gouki scratched his large chin, as he studied the unique writing, "No. Cant say that I've seen it anywhere..."

Kurama moved the piece of paper over to Hiei, "What about you Hiei?"

Hiei shook his head no, "I know its a form of demonic language, but not the type."

Kurama lowered the paper, "This is Tritan. The hardest demonic language out there. I doubt any of you know it?"

Gouki crossed his bulky arms, "Please tell me, YOU do..."

Kurama looked away, "Sorry, I wish I did. Not many do this is what I was afraid of..."

Gouki growled loudly in anger, trying his best not to hit the tall red head, "Well how the hell are we going to get in, if none of us know the damn language?!!"

Hiei clenched his fist, "Gouki, lower your voice before I cut it out! I'm sure Kurama has another plan." He shifted his blood red eyes to the fox's, "Right?"

Kurama stared at the barren, hard ground. As if the answer would be there. The cold autumn wind lapped at his face, which sent Goosebumps crawling up his neck and body. He shut his eyes, "No I'm sorry, but, there is no other way. We either read the language, or, cancel the mission altogether."

Gouki grew furious, as did Hiei, "You expect us to just end this right here, after all the hell it put us through to find you, and plan this?!"

Hiei glared at Kurama, "That's not going to happen. Well just find someone who can read it, then kill them afterwards."

Kurama looked up quickly. He wasn't about to kill an innocent person, "No!" Both of them looked at Kurama, shocked. "I mean, don't worry I know someone who will help us..."

"Is she edible?" Gouki smirked, licking his lips.

Kurama glared, "No, she is not! How dare you speak about women that way!"

Gouki chuckled, "So, it IS a woman..."

Hiei sneered, "Great. Just what we need. Whatever. As long she can get us through," He paused, "She can, cant she?"

Kurama nodded as the soft wind blew his hair. The night air was kicking in quick and he needed to get back to his human family, "Don't worry, I have it under control." he lied through his teeth.

Hiei stared intently, studying his face of any faltering. When finding none, he sighed, "You better hope you do for your sake..." With that, he walked off, "We will meet back here in two days. That girl better be ready by then, Kurama." he said as he disappeared into the cool darkness.

Gouki gave Kurama an eery smirk and walked off into the opposite direction, leaving him alone in a confused daze. What was he going to do? Finding someone with the Tritan tongue would be almost impossible. The water demons of Aquai are sensitive and loyal creatures. They would never do such a crime, he thought as he headed out of the woods. The only person he could think of who knew the language was out of reach, for he had been searching for her for almost 4 years. Suddenly something hit him. Something that he heard in the hallways of his school. _Flashback- Kurama walked down the small long hallway, heading to his biology class. He walked past a pretty blonde girl who was talking to one of her guy friends. "Hey Mai Makashi, Where's your hot sister Keela at? The tall brown headed guy asked, in a teasing, sexual voice. she rolled her eyes, "In Syarashiki jr. high dumbass, and no, you can not date her!" "Oh, man...but isn't she into weird stuff, like demonic languages?" he asked leaning against a locker, rudely blocking people. She nodded, "Yeah, she's into all kinds of those languages even knows the toughest form, Tritan."  
End Flashback_

Kurama stopped dead in his tracks, Even knows the toughest form, Tritan.  
Those words repeatedly in his head like a broken record. Mai Makashi. She has a younger sister, he thought. That was his target. All he had to do now, was get a hold of her. He walked back through the brittle sylvan path, prismatic leaves strewn throughout it making the ground almost unpercievable. His thoughts seemed to be as scattered as the ground. Was he really going to kidnap a young girl for his own selfishness? Afterall, she was still in middle school, eigth grade, of course she was smart for her age. Or so he had heard. Didn't she have biology with him in his second period class? Yes, he was sure of it, she sat torwards the corner by the door. He remembered that she caught his eye when Mr. Turuka announced that she came in 4th place in the Science Fair. He believed she did a project on the Solar System's Magnetic Pulse. She actually measured the pulses in her living room, measuring the eternal flow of solar magnetism as it washed over the earth. She then shyly explained that the sun sprays out into space a turbulent stream of charged particles called the solar wind. These particles in turn create a tiny magnetic field that pitches and shifts as it flows through the solar system. She stated that Scientists called this the Interplanetary Magnetic Field. It was a brilliant experiment and he had congradulated her for her vivacity of imagination.

She was rather cute now that he was thinking about her. He noticed a light beaming through the narrow stretch of trees and realized he was coming upon his yard. He breathed into his blistering cold hands and walked up the back of his yard hoping Suuichi was doing okay by himself. His mother was in the hospital due to a terrible illness, which he was told could be fatal. That was the reason why he was teaming up with criminals in the first place. He wanted something that could cure his mother, with just one wish. One wish upon a sacred mirror could end her suffering and help her live a healthy, stable life. He slowly walked up the timbered patio stairs making his way to the sliding doors to the inside. Looking over he noticed the flowers in his mother's green flower pot delicately placed upon a wooden shelf where she held her garden tools. _She must've forgotten to take them inside the house before she fell ill,_ he thought absentmindedly. They were nearly dead, the leaves were crumpled up in what looked like a painful position. He placed one gentle hand at the base of the piercing cold clay pot, and as he did so, his hand started to heat up releasing a incandescent green glow. One by one, the wiltering flowers began to abound from itheir pessimistic state, bursting with brilliant red Roses, conflagrant orange Petunias and of course the pallid, hushed purple Clematis, that were his mother's favorites.

"That's better," he stated quite contently as he picked up the pot carefully with ease and carried it into the well organized kitchen.

He decided to set them by the windeow above the sink where they could soak in plenty of sunlight. That was if the gray curtain of clouds released the sun's imprisoned rays. He fixed the position of the flowers slightly, detangling the stems from eachother making them full and luscious. He turned and took off his jacket walking into the living room seeing Suuichi on the beige leather sofa asleep with a thick wool blanket wrapped around him. He smiled and put his jacket on the coat rack and turned the television off that he left on when he fell asleep. He slipped his shoes off with one foot at a time and placed them by the back door by the kitchen methodically thinking about how his mother was doing. He started to consider not going to school to see her in the hospital, but decided against it, due to a History exam he had to take in the morning. He yawned, and started to walk down the hallway, the hard wood floor creaking beneath his feet. He made his way up the stairs and into his comfortable, uncluttered bedroom. The only thing that layed on the floor was a sweatshirt from when he changed earlier and his book bag by his television. He walked over to his large variety of music and slipped a cd of David Nevues, _The_ _Vigil,_ and listened to the soft eighth notes the piano played in the entrance of "A Midnight Rain." The mystical enrapturing entrance put him in a calm peaceful mood, keeping him from thinking about what he was going to have to do in the near future. The notes started to build up loudly into a more exciting giving an image rain falling upon a forest pond the droplets, making ripples spread out slowly across the small body of water as he read about the Black Plague of the 1300's. What a big contrast between them it was, but the music was so soothing to the soul that he started to fall asleep. He thought about his mother as the notes overtook his body, engulfing his conscience with what was yet to come. The rythms filled his heart with guilt as he thought about the sweet face of innocence.

Well that's the first chapter everyone!! I hope you liked it, i spent a lot of time on it. it's like 1 a.m right now and I'm kind of tired, but hey, that's what writers do right? well the next chapter will be up soon! Thanks and don't forget to rate!


	2. Eyes of the Enchanter

Hi, it's me again with the second chapter! So Kurama's going to have to get a hold of Keela somehow and it's the next day, and it's cloudy. Ugh -_- don't you hate that? You wake up wanting to find the sun shining, but instead you see yucky clouds. Clouds are only good for snow, because then there's no school! Yay! Anyway, I really appreciate my two reviews so far, it filled my little heart with hope of being a good writer. I used to try to type this story on Quizilla, but everything kept getting screwed up, so I just said Fuck it, and decided to switch over to here! I really like it here. No one read my story on quizilla beside my best friend. Sigh. Well before I start going off on a tangent, i better start the story. I hope you like it!

The Kindness in Strangers Chapter 2:

Eyes of the Enchanter----

"Keela Makashi?" Keela continued to attempt to carve an "I am so bored" remark in the small, old school desk, trying to ignore the large ugly monster of a teacher. "Keela, I'm talking to you." he persisted angrily tapping the teaching stick on his desk.

Without looking up she sighed, "Yes, I heard you, but I'm not going to answer. Why don't you try to humiliate someone else for once?"

A few classmates started giggling at her remark, as her aqua green eyes met the teachers red angry face, "How dare you speak to me like that. Would you like a detention like your friend Yusuke Urameshi always got?"

She sighed. Yusuke never showed up to school and made her look bad for being his friend, even though she was one of the smartest girls in school because she was already taking a biology class at Meiou High. She may have been in seventh grade, but her maturity level and her older teen appearance made her seem older than she was. She hated being a year younger than Yusuke because it made her feel like a baby, and she got enough of that at home with her older sister Mai, and older brother Sai. She shrugged, tucking her soft, straight, light purple hair behind her ear, "What good would that do? If it never shaped Yusuke up, what makes you think it will have any effect on me?"

The teacher gritted his teeth, and was about ready to say something awful when the school bell rang. Everyone started to pack up quickly and the moment was lost. He sighed, "Make sure you do your history projects on time!" he shouted after the class.

Keela picked up her books and got up, "By the way, the answer was the year of 1750..." She stated as she walked out.

She opened up her small excuse of a locker and looked at herself in the small mirror inside. _Man, I look exhausted. I guess running around with friends all night can have that effect on you_, she thought as she grabbed her biology books and beige corduroy jacket. She slipped it on and tied it around the curve of her waist tightly, fastening the big buttons preparing herself for the chilly air awaiting outside. She then closed her locker; made sure her lock was locked, and headed out of school to Mieou High for her Biology Class. She stepped out into the still, cold air and shivered slightly observing the vivid orange, red and yellow landscape surrounding her. It was mid-November when the air starts to smell brisk and the clouds get saturated with rain and up comings of snow. Shivering, she made her way down the leaf-littered side walk and cringed when an unwelcoming breeze flitted across her ice cold face making her eyes water.

Her steps started to increase in size and in returned her pace quickened, "God its frickin' cold!"

At the end of the side walk laid an intersection that was always busy with oncoming traffic. She liked to call it "Death Row" because so many people crashed their cars into a mangled mess, like her mother did four years ago... shaking her head she thought about something else to get her mind off of the haunting memories of the twisted metal and the cadaverous look upon her paling skin, her once red lips fading into the color of frozen death. Why was she forced to walk across this pathway of Hell? Wasn't her life tortured enough without her having to make this trip of unwanted memories? Two cars whirled passed her blowing the stinging air into her face, and she cringed, shivering violently making her forget about the gnawing pain in her chest. She tapped her black loafer on the ground impatiently for the green light to turn red so she could cross the walk way and look at the clock on the tower across the street. She couldn't afford to be late to Mr. Turuka's class again, and she didn't want to have to carry the water buckets like some of the high schoolers had to do when they were late. She pictured herself being weighed down by the heavy humiliation as her fellow classmates poked fun and jeered at her. She slumped forward, _Oh, I'll be ruined! No cute guys would want to date me!_ She thought pathetically. At last the light turned red, and she scurried across the street like a mad woman being chased by a dog. _Oh god, I have 2 minutes left!_ _I'll never make it!_ _My life is going to be over before I even make it into high school!_Her lungs burned with every breath she took but she didn't stop, not even when she bumped into a snobby older woman walking her golden retriever. She yelled something that sounded like bitch but she kept going waiting for the school to come into view. She skidded around a corner and saw the grand structure across the street, the campus lawn covered with a fresh coat of leaves from the bounding trees. She scampered past the lanky red oak trees sending the undisturbed leaves up in a flurry of color. Coming upon the first flight of steps, she jumped up over them and made her way to the metal framed double doors and rushed inside the warm air blowing across her frozen face. She had made it inside the school, but she was at the bottom floor, and the Science Wing was on the second. Running down the poster filled hallway (which was mainly flyers for the Snow Ball Dance that was in December), she came upon the two flights of stairs that would lead her to the Science Department of Class 3-C. By now her legs were shaking and her whole body was covered in sweat._ I don't think my aerobics exercise tapes are helping me get in shape at all..._She thought as she forced herself up the steps_. _At last she reached the top of the stairs her body doubled over in pain as her sides began to cramp. You can do it Keela! She pushed herself on.

Her shoes clacked on the hard shiny gray floor echoing down the halls harshly and she stopped by the door opening it as quickly as possible, "I'm Here!" She bellowed gasping for air only to find that Mr. Turuka was already lecturing and writing notes on the blackboard. Everyone stared at her giving her weird expressions and a couple of guys snickered a little.

Mr Turuka looked a little taken aback, his kind eyes wide with surprise, "K-Keela, How nice of you to join us."

A guy smirked, Aw she's late, Satoshi, get the buckets ready!"

She ignored him and bowed her head in shame, "I'm sorry I'm late Mr. Turuka! You see I couldn't get passed the intersection and then I..."

He patted her head forgiving her and smiled, "It's okay Keela, I understand. It's not like you're right down the hall where you can get here within 30 seconds."

She lifted her head up, "So you're not going to make me carry the water buckets?"

He cocked an eyebrow, "What? No, I only do that with the really bad kids in this class, he put his fist up and coughed into it, ahem, Satoshi, Toma!"

Toma and Satoshi gaped at him, "Hey!"

Mr. Turuka rolled his eyes and Keela made her way to her seat by the door and set her books down on the smooth black lab table and sighed at the empty chair next to hers. Her friend Saya was absent today, and they were doing a lab on Skin cells. She would have to work alone, she shrugged it off and put her reading glasses on making her look like what some guys liked to put it a "sexy nerd." She pulled her green notebook out and started to take notes about the nucleus of animal skin cells and their plasma membranes. She loved the way Mr. Turukatalked about the different areas of science. His eyes would light up and it made his lectures fun to listen to. His hair was a light brown and it his bangs sometimes swooped into his eyes giving him a suave, hypnotic air about him. He was young, about 23 and he was filled woth a lot of joy and happiness. His voice was gentle with a some what deep overtone to it. She stared at him and rested her chin on her hand sighing dreamily. This was no doubt her favorite class of the day. Before she knew it people were getting up and heading over the the microscopes on the shelves by the window and she waited in line to get one only to fine there no more left. She huffed a sigh, this was not a very good day for her. She bombed her math test, she was tired from running two blocks so she wouldn't be late to biology, which she ended up being late for anyway, her lab partner was absent, which meant she had to do all the work on the assignment, and now there were no microscopes left! _What a fantabulous day!_ She thought angrily and kicked the shelf discretely.

"Excuse me." A velvet voice said beside her and she looked over to see a tall red headed boy, she knew to be Suiichi Minamino, the class Prodigy. All the girls in the class talked about him like he was an angel sent by God himself to capture their throbbing hearts. His long red locks, his enchanting emerald green eyes, along with good looks and charm were enough to make any woman swoon over him. But did he want with an under class men like her?

"Yes?" She replied hesitantly captivated by the luxurious soft gaze he was giving her.

"My partner is absent today, and I noticed you don't have one either. I was wonder if you perhaps wanted to work together?" His eyes never moved from hers. It was like he was inspecting her face for a flaw or something. It made her feel like she was a dirty dish rag in a fresh basket of white linen. He was so pure.

Her face flushed, "um, sure, I guess. I mean, yeah of course, thank you. Do you have a microscope?"

He nodded keeping that same damn expression, "Yes, it's already on my the lab table. Your welcome to bring your stuff over if you like." He said and started to walk away to his table as she made her way to hers grabbing her stuff. She saw that the girls in the class were staring her making her feel uncomfortable. _I guess I should feel happy that they're jealous. It's not everyday that the prince of Meiou High talks to me. _She pulled the wooden stool out next to him and set her books down watching him look at cheek cells from a mouse. "So, are you going to the Snow Ball Dance?" she asked casually trying to break the tension as he wrote down an answer on the work sheet they had to complete.

He slid the microscope to her and she started to change the slide to a cat's liver cell , "I don't think I am. Dances aren't really my thing. Are you?"

She shook her head no, "I need a guy to ask me in order for me to go. I don't go here remember?" She saw the nuclear membrane surrounding the nucleolus and wrote down what it's function was. He studied her as she wrote it down making her feel like what she wrote was wrong, but he said nothing about it as he took the microscope back.

"I can't believe no one has asked you yet. You are a very pretty girl." Her cheeks burned at that comment and he smiled at her. She couldn't believe that Suiichi called her pretty! And that smile, oh, it was too perfect!

"Thank you," she managed to mumble as he fixed her glasses and tucked her hair behind her ear again.

Kurama's P.O.V.---Her eyes were bright aqua green, and they sparkled like a diamond. Her voice was sweet, yet powerful. He stared at her scrutinazing every inch of her face. Every so often he would glance at her body. It was average, your standard teenage girl, big breasts and all. Although compared to the other girls in the room, she seemed bustier. Her hair was lavender purple that fell down her back to her waist and he watched her move it over the left side of her shoulder revealing her slender neck. She could easily be described in one word. Naive. She had yet seen the evils of this world. He was sure of one thing, Hiei and Gouki would eat her alive. He assumed she had a good family, loving mother, protective father, and a caring older sister and brother. One big happy family. But yet when he looked in her eyes there seemed to be something hidden away deep inside, a secret sadness that she kept locked away. It was hard to see it but it was there. If she had a happy family then why was there sadness? Perhaps a boyfriend broke up with her a couple of months ago. The waning sadness of a broken heart maybe. He wanted to get to know her, know her story, her background, everything before he considered taking her away to help them with getting the artifacts. Maybe he could convince himself to not go through with it, that way and he could think of another way to get in the vault.

She glanced at him stopped moving her pen, "Could you please stop staring at me, your making me nervous."

"I'm sorry, I just think your intriguing is all." He said and he saw her face flush pink again.

"How so?" She questioned curiously as she wrote another sentence.

"You have a certain aura around you that I like. That and you have very interesting eyes. They speak of a tragic memory wanting to be forgotten."

She seemed to flinch once he said that and knew he had hit the nail on the head, "I don't know what you mean." She lied.

He left it be, "Was that the last question?"

She nodded, "yes. I'll go put it in the tray on his desk. you can start cleaning up, I'll help you when I come back." She stated and got up from her stool.

He started to clean up the equipment and she helped put the slides back in their proper place. They class started to put their equipment back a few minutes later since they finished before anyone else did.

"We should be lab partners more often Ms. Makashi, we make a good team." He humbly said trying to win her friendship. If she trusted him, she would tell more about herself.

She smiled, "I don't know, Saya would be crushed if I suddenly changed partners on her. And I think Nokotu likes being your partner. She would kill me if I became her replacement. She has a really big crush on you. As, does the rest of the school." She laughed playfully.

He rubbed his neck, "Yes, well I don't really pay attention to that sort of thing. I mean I know girls like me, I just don't have the time to spend. My studies are more important at the moment." She looked crushed and a pang of guilt stabbed him, "But maybe we could go out sometime."

Her face brightened up, "Really? I mean you don't have to. It would be cool to go out with you though. Er, I mean Just as friends of course! Heh, Heh." She looked into his eyes and he stared back just as the bell rang.

"well," He stood up, "It was nice talking to you, and I hope to see you tomorrow." He said as he walked out of the room and disappeared into the crowded hallway.

Keela's P.O.V---Her heart pounded in her chest as she made her way out of the class room and into the loud hallway. Suiichi Minamino had asked her out on a date! She couldn't believe it! the school prince who could have anyone in the whole school picked her! And she didn't even go to that school! But why her? Was she really that pretty? And what was that one remark about her eyes? She shrugged it off and made her way out of the school.

Wrapping her beige coat around herself, and she started to head towards Yusukes house because Mai was at some over night college visit and Sai was out of town for a baseball game in Tokyo. She walked across the street and a couple of boys whistled and made a comment on her legs. She ignored them, and blew into her hands to make sure she could feel them. After a while she felt a sudden feeling of being watched. She turned around to see no one around but kids walking home from school with their parents. The chilly harsh wind blew a vortex of colorful leaves towards her, making her blue uniform skirt blow up a bit, making her legs feel like ice. She shivered and shrugged it off, thinking it was just her being paranoid. After about 10 minutes of walking and sniffling, and the awkward feeling of being followed, she finally came to Yusuke's place. She shivered one last time, and knocked on the door quickly.

she looked behind her one last time, before Atsuko answered, "Yeah? What is it-oh! Keela! What're you doin here?" her breath smelled of booze and she had a slight drunk slang.

Keela shifted her backpack to her other shoulder, "Um is Yusuke here?

Atsuko smiled gently, "Uh yeah, just got in." She turned her head back inside, "Yusuke! Get your ass over here! Its Keela!" she turned her attention back to Keela and offered her to come in, "So honey, have have you been?" she asked as Keela took off her coat and stepped into the new warm atmosphere of cigarette smoke and beer.

She shrugged as she took off her black school shoes, "Pretty good I guess. I had to get away from my house and well-"

"KEELA!!" Yusuke interrupted loudly and hugged her. Her eyes went wide and she smiled as his warm welcoming scent filled her red little nose.

Atsuko laughed and sweatdropped, "I haven't seen him so excited since he came back to life! Ill get you two some hot cocoa."

As she walked away, Yusuke let go of her, "Geez! You're cold as ice, you must be freezing!" his chocolate brown eyes was filled with concern.

She sighed, walking over the dark blue sofa, and sat down starting to remove her shoes, "I'll warm back up eventually. So did you go to school today?"

"tch, no, I can't stand school you know that." He answered automatically.

She tolled her eyes, "You're a bad influence on me. I think I might just have to skip school too."

"Oh no you won't! you're staying in school, you're too smart for that." He commanded sternly. 'I don't want you wrecking your life like I did mine."

She laughed, "Nice to know I have a Dad again." His face went solemn and the tension came in thick. She stared out the window at the colorful autumn trees thinking about what he said, _wow I never knew how much he really cared about me,_ she thought about her mom again and tears almost started to well up.

Atsuko walked in slowly holding a tray of two hot cocoas, "Is, everything okay in here?"

Keela looked up slowly and smiled sadly, "Um, yeah, everything's okay." Thank God she came in when she did. Atsuko was relieved and placed the tray down on the brown coffee table, "Okay, if you say so..."

Keela moved her long waist length purple hair to the side and bit her lip nervously, "Um hey thanks for letting me stay here for tonight, did Mai bring my clothes?"

Atsuko's face lit up joyfully, "Well of course dear no problem and yes she did! Just don't keep me up all night with your moaning..." she laughed teasingly.

Yusuke's face went beat red, "Mom! Shut up! You know she's still a virgin!"

"And so are you! But I hear you moaning her name in your sleep all the time! Now your fantasy can come true!" She laughed. She slowly bent down next to Keela who was giggling, "He's too macho to admit it, but I've seen the stains" she whispered in her ear.

Keela's face flushed pink as she laughed. Yusuke crossed his arms, "That's so not true Keela! I swear!"

Keela rubbed her hand through his thick gelled black hair roughly, "My, my, Yu- Chan! I didn't know you were so head over heels for me!"

He smacked her hand away, "Not the fourth grade nickname! Alright that's it! You are getting it now!" he yelled as he chased her throughout the house. Keela laughed as Atsuko cheered after them. He tackled her nad they started to wrestle around but she was no match for him. She actually though that he had grown stronger. It was like she could feel a strange energy around him.

"Geez, Atsuko..what..have you been feeding him?" She asked as she tried to flip him off of her.

Atsuko laughed, "TV dinners and lots of vegetables, what else?"

She finally flipped him and tried to pin his arms down but he easily broke free and sat on her pinning her down his eyes inches from hers and he smirked, "Gotcha."

She sighed, "Okay fine now get off!"

He laughed, "Nah, I kind of like this position."

She glared viciously and he got off. She sat up and rubbed her wrist, "Ow, that's more than just tv dinners and vegetables."

She stood up and Yusuke chuckled, "What can I say? I'm built like a horse!"

He flexed and she rolled her eyes, "I'm going to go get changed." She walked over to his room and shut the door seeing her clothes laying on his soft neatly made bed and looked outside and saw the clouds parting a little. I'm so lucky to have a friend like him. I remember how mom used to tease us of how cute we looked together he's changed so much since then, but he's still the same Yusuke...she thought. The feeling of being watched had vanished, but she was far from being safe...

Wow, I've been typing for 3 hours! It's now 5:30 in the morning and I'm exhausted! I hope you enjoyed it, sorry if it was too long. Stay tuned for more! Please no Flaming, go easy on me, I'm trying the best I can T.T lol so please review and tell people about it if you like it. Thank you, and Good Night!


	3. Mistaken Identity

I Am So Sorry!! I didn't mean for you guys to wait so long, it's just that I've been so busy with things and I wanted to make this chapter kind of lengthy. Sigh. I don't know how some of you can do it! Ever since I was in middle school i have been reading stories on this site and most of the stories I find are extremely long. And they update soon! I guess people are just better at thinking and writing better than other people. I have been going through some hard times since I'm a senior now. College preparations are getting frustrating mainly because my legal guardian isn't really helping me and she's basically forcing me to go to NKU. Which is fine I guess but I can't wait to move onto the east coast where the ocean is. I've always wanted to live near it, it's so peaceful and beautiful. Well...at least until a hurricane hits it . lol. Which is why I'm only going to live in a condo by the ocean in the summer, instead of all the time. My friend Katie and I auditioned for Romeo and Juliet yesterday and our Drama Director really enjoyed hearing me read the parts for juliet. So I think we both have a really good shot for playing juliet, or just getting in the show in general. I'm a little nervous though because this is my first big show that I will be in. I was in Anastasia last year but I didn't really have to memorize any big parts. However in Romeo and Juliet there aren't any small parts. Everyone is significant. I'm really excited because were doing the show's setup is in the 60's where juliet is a flower child and Romeo comes from a military family. It's going to be a great show whether I'm in it or not. I think my friend deserves to be Juliet because she's such a good actress and she has actually inspired me in many ways. She has always been there for me and she's extremely devoted to the drama club. She deserves to be Juliet because she's been so excited and she's all ready a hippie lol. Sorry, I just wanted to give some input on some background information about myself and to give a shoutout to my best friend Katie. I love ya girl! Anyway, thank you for reading my stories and I hope you like this next one!

**Chapter 3: **

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Keela opened her tired aqua as the sun beamed into them and she tried to sit up when she felt something holding her waist down, and soft mumbling, "No, don't go Keiko..."

She turned around to face Yusuke and smiled. His black messy hair was down in his eyes. She gently moved his soft bangs out of his face and kissed him on the forehead. She remembered how sad she was when she heard the news about his death. She cried for days on end because she knew that she would never be able to play video games with him, or smack him for lifting up her skirt, or even stay up all night talking about absolutely nothing with him ever again. She almost wanted to pretend that she never met him, it hurt so much. She almost couldn't believe that he was right here, sleeping next to her. She thought about the night before. It had been a crazy one. Atsuko ended up wanting to have a drinking contest, so they played the game Quarters. No one really won since nobody threw up, but Atsuko did end up passing out on the couch. So Yusuke and her decided to stay up talking while they camped out on the floor. They were talking about Keiko, so it would only make since that hed be dreaming about her. She sighed a bit sad that she didn't have anyone special to dream about, and laid there silently listening to his soft breathing and Atsuko's light snoring. It was then that she looked at the clock. 8:57 a.m. Her eyes went wide in shock.

School started at 8! She moaned loudly, "Great! Yusuke get up were late for school!" She yelled as she pulled the covers back off him.

He turned over and groaned, "C'mon, just 3 more minutes..." She blushed when she noticed him wearing only boxers, and started shaking him, "Yusuke get up! Do you want Takenaka on your ass again?"

He shifted a bit and scratched underneath his blue silky boxers carelessly, "No, which is why I'm not going to school...!"

Suddenly out of nowhere Atsuko's foot slammed down on his head, "You are to going to school! You missed yesterday and I'm not letting you miss it again!" she said as she slammed on her foot again. She looked at a sweatdropping Keela, "You better get ready sweetie. He'll only be a few minutes..."

She said while smiling and walked off into the kitchen, smoothing out her light brown hair. Yusuke sat up dazed, rubbing his head, "Damnit mother! That's called child abuse you know!" "Shut up and get ready for school!" Atsuko yelled from the kitchen.

Keela laughed cutely, "come on, lets get ready, and no peeking on me while I get undressed!"

"Tch, like I would do something like that..." He said while yawning and standing up.

Her face lit up seeing a bulge sticking up beneath his boxers, "Ew! God put that away!"

"Hm?" he said as he looked down to see a bulge in his boxers. He put his hand over it and blushed, "Its not like I can control it!"

She stood up and walked out, "Yeah, Whatever!" Once they got ready and Yusuke made a sexual remark about how hot she looked in a skirt, they quickly started to run to school.

Kurama's P.O.V. ---Kurama sat in class thinking of how he was going to approach the small pretty girl, Keela. That morning, he waited to see if he could find her going to into her middle school, but she never showed up. If he didn't act fast in this scheme he knew there would be trouble with Gouki and Hiei. They would either throw him out of the alliance or find an innocent person and kill them afterwards. He stared out the window lost in the deep recesses of his mind pondering different ways he could go about this bothersome plan. He couldn't get kicked out. That wasn't an option. He needed one of the artifacts desperately. The Forlorn Hope. A mirror that would grant any wish on a full moon. Even though he knew the consequences of the wish, he couldn't back down now. Ill just approach her when no one is around. Gorgeous girls like that are usually gullible, and easy to persuade, he thought. He felt a sudden twinge of guilt thinking about kidnapping an innocent girl, but it was what he needed to do. Guilt was nothing compared to plotting his own death.

Back to Yusuke and Keela---the office was colder and dryer than it was outside as Keela and Yusuke waited in the principals office. The sound of the soft ticking of the clock on the far side wall reverberated through the long corridor. The front desk guidance counselor typed on her keyboard noisily and sipped her coffee as students came in late to school with their parents due to doctor's appointments and missing the bus.

Office aids brought boxes of christmas supplies next to the front desk and the counselor stood up and dusted her dark blue dress off before smiling at the man holding a large box with the word christmas tree scrawled in red sharpie along the side, "You can just set it on my desk and I'll start putting the decorations up." He nodded and he went behind her desk and gently set it down only to bump it into a family picture. It teetered and wobbled and a small crash resonated like a Christmas bell. A shard of glass slid next to Keela's shoe and she kicked it aside sighing aggravatedly.

She growled, "I can't believe you got us into this mess Yusuke. You better hope Mai doesn't find out about this." The man that had the box started to apologize patheically as the counselor started to clean up the mess with a dust pan and broom. She sighed and said it was okay but he kept expressing his remorse.

Yusuke crossed his arms, "Hey what was I supposed to do?! Let that creep try to feel up my Keela?!"

"Hello! You have a girlfriend!" she yelled back, "There was no reason to punch his lights out! Now I'm stuck in this god for saken office with the biggest dumbass of them all!"

"Excuse me, young lady?" A deep voice interrupted.

She slowly looked up to see the principal standing right there, "Oh, uh, good morning Mr. Takenaka! I didn't see you there!" she laughed nervously.

He sighed, "Ill pretend I didn't hear that foul language. Now Yusuke, why did you beat up someone this time?" he asked in a exasperated tone.

Yusuke sneered, "Cause the guy couldn't keep his hands off Keela..."

The principal looked at Keela quickly then looked at the records in his hands, "Well whatever the cause was I'm afraid I have to suspend you for two days...please leave immediately." Keela and Yusuke looked at each other with "This is bullshit" expressions. "I want no arguments from either one of you." he stated and walked out.

There was an awkward silence between them when Yusuke sighed and rubbed the back of his gelled hair, "Well, see ya whenever..." He stood up and noticed how sad she was, "Hey don't worry about it, its only for two days..."

She looked down, her long hair falling in her face, "I know, I just wish you wouldn't have gotten in trouble because of me."

He lifted her chin, "Its okay. I'm not mad, in matter of fact I couldn't be happier! No school for two days! Time to hit the arcade!"

She giggled, Yusuke's enthusiasm would always cheer her up, "Have fun!" He smiled but it faded to serious, "Look, I want you to stay out of trouble, okay?"

She nodded, "Don't worry, I'll probably be sitting at home bored out of my mind."

He smiled, "I doubt that. Well see ya!" he said as he walked out into the hallway.

She watched him disappear down the hall and Mr. Takenaka came out of his office fixing his navy blue tie holding a small stapled stack of papers along with an orange document envelope. He stopped in front of her and put his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, "Keela, you have a Biology class over at Meiou High with Mr. Suichi Minamino, correct?"

She nodded staring up at the papers with intense curiosity, "Yes, I do, why do you ask?"

He switched the papers to his other hand as the phone started to ring by the counselor's desk, "Well, I need you to drop these papers off to him when you go to class." He handed them out to her his hand shaking with the nerves of old age. She took the stapled pakage that contained secretive information, and held them carefully with both hands.

A jab of nosiness broiled deep inside of her making her stomach lurch forward uneasily. She couldn't help but stick her nose in things that didn't concern her, "What are they?" She started to flip through the documents inquisitively.

He reached his hand out and grabbed her slender wrist stopping her instantly, "I'm afraid that's confidential, and not any of your business. They were sent over here instead of Meiou High by mistake. Ms. Makashi, I understand that you are friends with Mr. Urameshi, and that is frowned upon, mostly because you are one of the finest students we've had here in a while, next to Keiko Yukimora. Your academic acheivement and intelligence is fenomenal in the fact that you are young. I really would hate if you were to get in any trouble with the wrong crowd." He smiled and the wrinkles around his eyes creased which spoke of a long life of happiness and laughter, "I'm trusting you to deliver this, and I trust that you won't pry into matters that do not concern you."

He was playing the "I'm counting on you" card but she had little doubt that she could keep this promise. His eyes didn't exactly say this was your ordinary profile, or document. Instead of saying okay, she decided to play with his little speech, "Why Mr. Takenaka, I'm honored that you have so much trust in me. I promise that this will make it over to him without anyone else knowing about or reading it." Without much suprise it seemed to work and he nodded, and with a thank you he walked back into his office. The Counselor had all ready started to put the small green pine tree next to the office doors and the man who broke her picture, took out a tangled mess of lights before Mr. Takenaka came back out with a pink slip of paper noting why she was late to class. She took it and started to make her way to her class. She had all ready missed first period, which she wasn't at all concerned about since it was her japanese caligraphy class. She looked down at the orange envelope that held the papers that Mr. Takenaka had given her. The urge to pry into the envelope was killing her but she decided to wait until she was in her ethics class before she dug into the mysterious papers. Suichi...what a mystery he was. None of the girls at the high school knew much about him, which was probably the reason why they loved him. She had to admit the she was enthralled to speak with him, and to gaze into those soft eyes. Those enchanting eyes reminded her of a vast forest or a cave yet unseen. She wanted to delve into his mind and collect as much information as she could. She wanted to be the first girl to ever have cracked the code of this complex man. But would she fail like all the rest of those hopeless girls that fawned all over him? The funny thing was he didn't even seem to care about the fact that he was the most handsome single man in the school. He was so nonchalant about everything. How could someone be like that? It boggled her mind to a point where she was on the brink of insanity. It just didn't make sense that a man like him would be single for this long. He probably thought he was too good for the girls his age. Maybe he was one of those men who liked older women for their maturity and brilliance; like an underpaid author looking for thier perfect romance. Or a scientist that has spent her whole life devoted to research one who spends her days in a laboratory working for the sleezy government that claims to protect the people from the impending development of war. Yes, he must be one of those men. And if so, she didn't even have a chance of being with a guy like him. Sighing, she came to the end of the hall where her ethics class was probably discussing the importants of decision making. Her friend Brent would be waiting for her like a love sick puppy who hasn't seen its master in a week. She touched the brass door knob, turned it, and sauntered into the room feeling the warm breeze lift her sheer bangs over her head and rubbed her arm nervously as the teacher looked over at her. The old woman tilted her head down her eyes peering over her black square framed glasses giving her a look of death. Keela couldn't stand old female teachers. Especially not Mrs. Nakamura. She always dressed like she was going to church and yelled if anyone so much as uttered a yawn. Not to mention, she smelt like an old musty basement. Embaressed that the class was now staring at her, she slipped the pink slip of paper onto the hard black polished wooded desk and leisurely made her way passed the narrow walkway of desks to her seat in the back of the class. She crossed her legs and pulled her notebook out from her book bag and tapped her black ink pen on the loose leaf paper lightly, as Mrs. Nakamura droned on about Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics." Her voice grew louder and explained how his book was considered to be one of the most important treatises on ethics ever written.

Writing that last little tid bit down, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she sighed and whispered, "Not right now, Brent."

She heard a creaking sound of wood and metal knowing he was moving around, probably trying to lean closer to her, "Where were you? I heard Yusuke got suspended again." His voice was barely audible, his breath was hot against the back of her neck making the tiny prickles of hair stand on end. Boy how gossip travels fast.

She shrugged, "I overslept. I don't know anything about why he was suspended," She lied.

She didn't feel like explaining the whole situation to him, it would be very annoying, and she didn't feel like getting chewed out by the old bat, thank god she was retiring soon. Fortunately, he took the lie as fact and that was the end of the conversation. She heard him lean back against his chair and she glanced at the orange flat envelope that laid crooked at the corner of her desk. She chewed on her fingernails and bounced her knee rapidly trying not to think about what information she could be pouring over. Time passed, but it passed lackadaisically, making her knee bounce faster. Oh the secrets she could be acquiring right now, everything about his past could be confined in just a few sheets of paper, everything that every girl could want to know about him could be within reach of her very own hands! Just inches away from her fingers...Oh screw it! She reached for the envelope eargerly and undid the gold clasp and slid her hand into opening pouch hungry for the sweet taste of juicy words before her. Her fingers wrapped around the packet and she pulled it out. Her bright eyes swept across the black ink that was scrawled across the page and her face fell once she read the words.

Kurama's P.O. V---The day passed slowly as usual. What was the point of going to school if he all ready knew the information? A thousand year old demon lost within a human soul could be quite burdensome. He made his way through the lunch line eagerly waiting for the next class. Biology was next, and to him, studying the human anatomy was about the only interesting topic he enjoyed learning. Everything bout them seemed so fragile and simple. If there was a God, why did he create something so insignificant and small? And furthermore, why did he make them so ignorant? They were so unaware of their surroundings and didn't know what they were taking about half the time. One track minds, focusing on being comfortable and making it through life instead of enjoying the beauties of the world. Or rather what was left the beauties. Human kind was destined to destroy themselves and that would mean that Demons would be the most dominant species on the Earth. That could spell the end of the Spirit World, and the oppurtunity to make it into Heaven of Twilight's Peak.

"So you like 'em young don't you Suichi?" Ryo Tamura teased allegedly. He took a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich as the other two Toma and Hiro looked at Kurama with uneasy eyes.

Kurama, taken back by this question, hesitated, "Excuse me?"

Ryo mumbled almost uncomprehendingly, "That Keela girl. You guys were flirting a lot yesterday. It's nice to see that your hitting it off with a girl finally, but she's a bit young isn' she?"

Kurama thought about this for a minute. The human mind was always looking for an explanation. He had never spoken to her before and the others thought he liked her, so they assumed he built enough courage to get to know her. But actually liking her was absurd, because she was in fact too young. However back in the days of being Yoko Kurama he slept with a few 13 year olds, but they were demons, so it was different. He could remember one in particular that reminded him of Keela. She was sweet and angelic just like her bubbly personality. And being the man that he was he had to admit that Ms. Keela did have a quite accented body that any man, young or old couldn't ignore. He shook his head, "No, it's not anything like that. I just didn't have a partner that day, and niether did she. It probably will not happen again."

"But you want it to." Ryo smirked and took a drink of his grape cola.

He sighed, why he wanted to pretend to be his friend in the first place was beyond him, "No. You are right. She's too young and I don't want any rumors going around, you hear me? That goes for you two as well."

He narrowed his eyes at Toma and Hiro and they put they're hand up reassuringly, "Fine."

Kurama looked at the clock. He had found that he'd been quite anxious for biology to start, more so than usual. He really wanted to see her. It wasn't like he liked her or anything, he just wanted to escape from hi thoughts and she seemed to relax him. The whole time that he was sitting next to her, he felt, relieved in a way. Like he was a normal person living everyday life. Not normal within the human sense, but normal in the demon aspect of things. Which of course was odd because he wasn't near any demons to make him experience this. He would've felt their presence. But for some reason she reminded him of home. Perhaps it was her scent. Yes it must have been the way she smelt, which was the essence of winter oak in the land of Ice. He loved the smell of winter in Makai, and the way it looked was even more beautiful. The trees slept silently and the mountains reflected across the icy waters creating a mirage of two worlds. Nothing could pentrate the serenity of winter, except more beauty. He closed his eyes and listened to the morning songs of the artic phoenixes flying over the sparkling powdered snow.

Then he felt someone shake him, "Um Suichi, it's time to go."

He opened his eyes and smiled, "Oh, sorry, i must have dozed off." Hiro and Toma looked at eachother a little worriedly wondering if their friend had lost his sanity. Everyone started to disperse back to their classes griping and complaining about how they had to undure the torture of learning cell reproduction. Making his way up to the science wing he saw Keela walking down the hall, her eyes turned down to the floor deep in thought. She was wearing her blue Sarayashiki Jr. High uniform as expected and her hair was pinned back letting her bangs fall free from her long locks. However her face wasn't showing any of her run-of-the-mill happiness. She seemed rattled and a bit upset and in his hand she carried an orange envelope. Her legs carried her into the class but she didn't seem at all in the room. He walked in after her and she sat down at her lab table, and observed that the seat next to hers was vacant once again. He made his way to his seat glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She tapped her pen on her open notebook that she had pulled out of her button covered bookbag and they locked eyes, only for a moment before she turned her head away like she was embaressed to be seen. Did she do something that she was ashamed of? The class was noisy making his mind cluttered as she bent down to the side of her desk and picked up the orange envelope that laid ontop her bookbag. Unsteadily she got up, her big round eyes curious, but confused at the same time. What was bothering her so much? Her chest expanded as she took a deep breath shaking her head as if to reassure herself. He would give anything to read minds at this moment, he then grimaced regretting the fact that he was actually wanting to be Hiei. Her feet gliding passed one another she finally made it to his desk, and cocking her head slightly, she slid the large envelope toward him across the top surface.

He opened his mouth to speak but the teacher beat him to it, "Everyone please return to your seats and copy the chart on the board into your notebooks."

She flushed and gingerly returned to her chair making him shift uneasily. He stared at the package before him and opened it warily, getting a deep gut feeling that this was what she was disturbed about. Three pages were stapled together and at the top of the first page told him exactly what all this about. Thick bold letters were scrawled across the page and his stomach dropped. _Spirit World request denied_. And in that instant his eyes grew to be about the size of tennis balls. That oh fuck moment spread through his body as he turned his head swiftly to her his hands gripped the side of his desk and a paniful creaking sound groaned within the black wood. _Get a hold of yourself, maybe she didn't read it_. he reassured himself and then he saw it. A piece of notebook paper laid underneath the envelope and he hesitantly took it, his hands becoming shaky as he did. Her delicate handwriting laid across the paper,

_Are you who I think you are? If you are, meet me at Kyra's Cafe at 4._

He didn't know what to think. Should he lie or should he tell her the truth? If he did tell her that Spirit and Demon World actually existed, it would mean that Spirit World was doomed, and so was Human World at that. He thought about this for a moment. This could open up a great oppurtunity. Why fear it when he could embrace it and welcome it into the world? At one point or another a person will committ a selfish act in order to do something unselfish. And the road to selfishness, was the path he had to take to save a life that he held most dear to him. Releasing his grip from the sides of his desk that now had dents in them, he looked at Keela sincerely. Clever girl. She had one handedly helped him in this mission. And her reward would be the truth. The truth that would conclude the upcoming chapter...of the world.

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Cliff hanger!!! lol I hoped you enjoyed it! thank you for supporting me and I promise i won't keep you waiting for too long next time! Please rate and spread the word!


	4. The Unmasked Truth

**The Kindness of Strangers**

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, I'm just going to tell you guys now, that the reason why I haven't written anything in forever is because one, I've had writer's block, and 2nd, I've been so focused on graduating and getting ready for college that I accidentally kind of forgot about the story lol. Sorry, it happens. At least with me it is. Now, before I hand you the chapter, I'd like to get something off my chest. So, apparently someone thinks that my character Keela is a "mary sue." Now, I don't know who started the whole "mary sue" thing, but frankly, it's getting quite old. I mean it's one thing to make up "mary sue", but do you seriously have to make other "sues" along with it? (anti sues, villain sues, angsty sues etc.) There is like no way to get out of being some kind of "sue." They aren't even supposed to be called sues. They are stereotypes, (you know, the whole bad guy turned good, the girl who is troubled by her past, or the delinquent turned into a hero, YYH has many of these stereotypes) and they are needed for the fundamental blocks of building a character! If you made a character that had absolutely no interesting past, or passion, or interests, they would be completely boring and robotic. I once heard from an actor that clichés are sometimes good. It's what makes a character have fluff, and personality. I particularly don't care if Keela is a "Mary Sue" or not, I'm just going to keep writing and making my character into a well developed person. Actually, it shouldn't be the characters that get all the bashing. It should be the person's plot line and writing. If they don't make their character grow or develop throughout the story, or if they don't come up with the reasons why their character is the way they are, then that's the writer's fault. They can't just say that their character is naturally mean, and act just like Hiei. That's just the writers being lazy. Now, I don't want people getting mad, I'm not telling anyone that they are bad writers, I'm just speaking my honest opinion. Stereotypes make the world go around. They are good! So with anyone out there with "Mary Sues" in their stories, don't get down, just remember, your character has a good background and isn't dull! But remember to make your writing good so they can show their true colors! J**

**Chapter 4**----

5 years ago----_"Hey wait up Keela!" Sakura yelled as they both ran down the steps into the darkness of Keela's basement. _

_Keela sighed and tightened her ponytail, "Hurry up Sakura before you set off a booby trap!" _

_Sakura gasped for air as they reached the bottom of the steps, "It's not my fault that you're faster than me! _

_Keela huffed, "Dum-dum! You have to be really fast and careful when exploring the pyramids of Egypt. I saw on T.V. once that a guy got cursed just because he entered a forbidden tomb." _

_Sakura gave her a weird look, "Wasn't that a cartoon show?" _

_Keela sweat dropped and bopped Sakura on the head with her flash light and she whined in pain, "This is make believe silly, anything can happen!" _

_Sakura rubbed her head, "Okay, geez." _

_Keela clicked the flashlight on and shined it around, the luminescent spotlight moved along boxes and bookshelves and finally rested on a tall wooden book case hiding behind two big boxes. "Ah hah! The secret bookcase of the demon scrolls! We found it!" _

_Sakura got her fake Hello Kitty camera out of her small book bag and pretended to take pictures. They crept toward it cautiously and moved the two boxes out of the way. "How come you weren't afraid of booby traps just now?" Sakura asked accusingly, her eyes narrowed. _

_Keela stuck her nose up in the air, "Who's the professor here, me or you? Now let's get down to business, we have lots of codes to crack!" _

_Sakura took a kids' book out titled __The Boy and the Sea__, and started to read random words out of it as Keela started to pull all of the books out of the bottom shelf and stopped once she saw a thick book covered with silt and dust. Curious, she pulled it out and was surprised by the sudden heaviness. She blew across the surface and the dust scampered into the air, making her cough from the left over particles that made their way into her lungs. She looked down at the book and read the words in her head slowly, __The History of Spirit World and Demon World__. The book cover was brown leather and was obviously ancient due to the weak, flexible binding, and the bottom right hand corner was ripped off. She opened it and saw that the once white pages were now yellowed and the text was starting to fade. Just how old was this book? She looked for the copy right date at the very beginning of the table of contents section and saw that it read 1864. Looking back at the bookshelf, she noticed that the spot where the book was, was buried beneath all the rest of the books, suggesting that whoever had this book obviously didn't want it to be found. She couldn't believe it! She had found an actual ancient artifact! She put the book in her book bag and decided not to tell her friend about it. This was going to be her little secret. _

"Could you stop that?" Keela looked beside her to see a very annoyed expression on her classmate's face,. He always got very annoyed with her easily and often called her obnoxious. She stopped tapping her pen on the edge of her wooden desk. It had been a nervous habit ever since middle school started, but she hadn't done this so habitual since Suichi walked into her life.

She whispered, "Sorry."

He looked back down at his test and moved his neck and she cringed at the loud crack that it created. Ever since she had found the orange envelope, she had become more on edge with things. Her stomach felt queasy. She couldn't focus on the test that she was supposed to be taking, not that she had studied for it anyway. Out of all the languages that she had been studying, English was her least favorite. She just couldn't grasp all the different letters and pronunciations. Ever since she was eight, she had had a sick curiosity in demonic legends. It all started when she had found that book about the Spirit World and demonic cities in her basement at home. Her and her friend Sakura would play explorers down there and pretend that they were looking for ancient artifacts. They would rifle through old books and make up spells to read out of them. The book was full of Demonic languages, and pictures of the Spirit and Demon World battling for power over the Living World. And of course, the profiles of Demon World's most dangerous convicts. That's the one thing that she couldn't stop obsessing over. The letter that she had read didn't have Suichi's name in it, but instead had the name Kurama within the inked text, and they said that they were not going to help a demon no matter how desperate he was for it. The only demon that she could remember reading about in her book was Yoko Kurama, the King of Thieves. He was the worst out of all the criminals in Demon World, known for torturing his victims until they begged to die. His weapon of choice; The Rose Whip. A vine with thorns as sharp as a katana blade and as durable as titanium steel. She shivered. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must've been like for those poor innocent people getting tortured and whipped by that thing. But could Suichi Minamino really in fact be Kurama, the King of Thieves that tortured and took so many pristine lives? She shook her head, maybe she was getting ahead of herself. This could all be a some kind of joke, or maybe she was going crazy. Regardless, Suichi was a sweet and gentle being, and she was sure that there was some rational explanation of what was going on.

She looked up at clock restlessly, _ten til three-thirty. Almost time for school to end. I wonder what Mrs. Akafumi would do if I just walked out now? _

She wrote down the answer to the last question about an English verb and she got up quickly walking up to teacher's desk, where she was typing on her computer and sipping her late afternoon coffee. She turned in her seat once she noticed that Keela was ready to hand in her test and took it from her, "You may go ahead and leave now Ms. Makashi." The one good thing about finishing up tests early at the end of the day, was that you got to leave a few minutes early. She nodded and opened the heavy classroom door and carefully closed it behind her ,so it wouldn't make an obnoxious slam like it usually did. The last thing she needed was to be bitched out by her teacher while she was trying to meet Suichi, and she did not want to be late for this meeting. She couldn't help but think that everything that she had read in the book she had discovered so many years ago could actually exist. And if that were the case, she wanted to know _everything. _As she walked down the long corridor to the steps, she tried to raise questions that maybe she'd like to ask him. She stopped at the top of the first flight of stairs and held her head. _I must be going crazy, _she thought before continuing on her way to the café of truth.

Kurama's P.O.V.---The streets were bustling with cars and people. The air was permeated with exhaust fumes, baby cries, and construction noises. A few school girls walked passed him on the sidewalk. One was talking on the phone with who sounded like her mother. She mentioned something about having to go to soccer practice later, and that got Kurama thinking about his mother. He was disappointed in himself that he couldn't help her when she fell ill. He had stayed in the hospital with her all night but when she awoke the next morning, she made him make a promise that he wasn't going to miss school because of her. A few days after that, he ran into Hiei and he made him an offer that he couldn't refuse. Stealing the three darkness artifacts of Spirit World was a bold move even for him. So he decided to write a Spirit World request to see if he could get their help personally before he made any rash decisions. He pulled Keela's note from his pocket and read it again. He could smell her sweet perfume that was infused within the thin white sheet. He sighed as he turned a corner of 42nd Boulevard, and a man who was in a hurry elbowed him in the arm. He ignored it and thought at how strange it was that she wanted to ask him about the Spirit World document in a public café. Was she so confident in herself that she knew she wouldn't freak out about the news? He knew that she was familiar with demonic writings, but did she maybe all ready know the truth? Impossible. No human would be able to figure it out on their own, not without demon assistance anyway. So maybe she knows a demon that he didn't know about. It was possible. Demons would sometimes move into Human World as a Witness Protection Program, if they were in some sort of trouble. Maybe she had found that one of the kids in her school was a demon or something and they had explained everything to her. So that would mean that she could have known about him all along. It was hard to know anything just yet. Like always, he was trying to get five steps ahead of himself. He had a problem with over thinking anything abnormal that came his way. He was about a block away when he came to a cross walk. He stopped and waited for the light to change green as people started to pile up around him. This whole thing was going to be trickier than he thought.

Keela's P.O.V.---Keela waited by the glass doors of Kyra's Café and shivered. This café was one of the best café's in Mushiori City, where men escorts led women, young and old inside. The men were very handsome, suave is what most people would call them. However, Keela liked to refer to them as "pretty boys," and so far pretty boys were not on her menu of boyfriends to date. No, rough, tall, dark, and hot were her ideal traits of the perfect boyfriend. She watched a tall, chiseled blondie walk two teenage girls inside the romantically lit café. They couldn't stop giggling at how beautiful he was. She sneered, ugh, "pretty boys" were so last season. She knew of course that within the next three years, the men were going to come out of the closet. But, why was she so attracted to Suichi? He was a "pretty boy" right? Wrong. He had an air around him that she couldn't ignore, even though she probably should. But she was nosy, and somewhat of an oddball. However, she never liked to show it in front of people for the fear of being called a freak. But sometimes, it was inevitable, because she would tend to slip up around people that she was comfortable with. If her girl friends knew however, they would spread rumors and then she would be known as the outcast of the cruel high school society. She closed her eyes trying not to think about it. The fact of the matter was that she was captivated by Suichi Minamino, and she was intrigued by his very existence. Every movement he took created so much enigma, and mysterious puzzles were her favorite things to solve. Like an Egyptian tablet with abstruse writing on it. The air was becoming more bitter by the minute and Suichi still hadn't shown his gorgeous face. She wiped her runny nose with her coat sleeve, and then wrapped her arms around her. Her teeth chattered noisily and the glacial breeze just about knocked her over, and her long hair flew in her face uncontrollably.

_If he doesn't show within the next five minutes, I'm going to eat by myself, and then kill him! She thought tempestuously. _It was then that she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye, and she glanced over briskly, to see that Suichi was up right next to her and her eyes went wide with both fear and delight. Her heart palpitated within her chest, and she felt that she couldn't breathe. Those inscrutable emerald eyes were narrowed, and puzzled with something. His mouth opened and her heart skipped a beat, she could not even begin to think of what he could possibly say to her. Oh, she longed to kiss those soft lips of his, she wanted to taste his thoughts, his words, and his dreams. Then it came, his sentence was brief and to the point. Wait, it wasn't a sentence, it was a question.

"Why are you waiting out here in the freezing cold instead of waiting inside?" His voice was calm, yet full of concern. She was amazed. Was he not worried about what had happened in class? She finally was able to breathe again once he had asked his question.

Her mouth quivered as she stumbled for an answer, "No seats…" It was a lame response, but it was all that she could think of at the moment. A smile. He was smiling at her, but why? He pulled away and opened the door for her like a gentleman. A gentleman she could stand, but not a sweet talker that was full of shit. She took a deep breath, and walked into the café with shaking hands and a pounding heart.

"Keela! Is that you?" A familiar shrill sounded. Keela glanced over to see Mai scurrying around tables of busied customers, her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail. She paused for just a moment, "And… Suichi? W-What are you two doing here?" A flustered hue brushed her cheeks, both of jealousness that Suichi was with her sister, and embarrassment of being seen in a frilly pink uniform. "Hold on just a sec, I think there's a table clearing out now." Keela knew that Mai had quite the crush on Suichi, she would always talk about him when she came home from school. They were only in one class together and that was History. But that one class was enough for Mai to get all sir crazy over him. She didn't want to admit that she liked him, her stubborn nature wouldn't allow it. So Keela would keep her mouth shut about being able to see right through her.

But that didn't mean that she couldn't tease her about it. She watched Mai rush back to a table near the back of the café, where a group of middle-aged ladies had been, to clean up. Meanwhile, a younger, good-looking man with obviously-dyed mahogany hair approached the young couple at the door.

He glanced at Keela, then eyed Suichi up and down. "Why hello there, beautiful ladies! May I escort you to your table?" Sai then offered an arm to both, where Suichi politely declined and nudged an elbow away.

Overhearing the comment, Mai sighed and shook her head at her confused brother, "Sai, this is Suichi Minamino. _He_ is the smartest student at our school, so treat him nicely, 'kay?" She patted him on the shoulder with sympathy while carrying a tray of teas to an awaiting table. Sai was her older jock-like brother. She referred to him as jock-like because he only wished that he was a jock. He didn't have as much luck with the ladies as the other sports players did. He was 20 and still acted like he was in high school. He was on a baseball team and his dream was to become a professional baseball player and move to America, particularly to Beverly Hills, California. But since he graduated high school, he hadn't had much luck. Until he made it to the big time, he was working as an usher at the café with Mai.

Sai blinked a couple times, then started scratching his head nervously, "Heh heh heh, sorry about that. Well, can I escort my little sister, at least?" Keela nodded then linked her hand around Sai's bicep, smiling, while Suichi followed. She looked at Kurama but he didn't seem phased by anything that had happened. Sai walked them over to the well polished wooden table in the back and they both sat down. Keela smiled up at Sai, "Thanks, big bro. You were _so _helpful." she complimented sarcastically.

He rubbed her head making her hair messy, "No problem lil sis!"

She smacked it away, "Stop touching my hair! It took forever to put up this morning!"

He rolled his eyes and walked away towards two others girl, and escorted them to their table politely. She gazed around the restaurant trying to avoid looking Kurama in the eyes. As much as she adored looking at them, she couldn't have him seeing right through her into her rampant scattered brained thoughts. Not at this point anyway. So she decided to try to keep her mind else where by observing the commotions in the room. The café was fairly large for any normal luncheonette. The waiting lobby was filled with customers waiting on open tables. A little girl wearing overalls sat on her mom's lap playing with a small round ball, and her father talked to an older gentlemen who she assumed was his father. Fall and Winter was always a busy time of the year for the cafe. The room was always dimly lit for a tranquil atmosphere. In the center of the room a few tables were scattered about with two wooden chairs to each one. Against the far side wall were a couple of booths with dark pink leather cushioned seats. They were seated in the far back in the wooden chairs. Kurama was the first to break the silence.

"So, why is it that you wanted us to come here?" He asked.

He was acting naïve, like he didn't know. He may have been the smartest guy in the school, but he wasn't getting out of this mouse trap so easily. She was about to tell him her theory, but Mai walked up to the table smiling, "Sorry about the wait, what can I get you two?"

Kurama smiled that beautiful serene grin that made every girl in her school melt into a puddle of warm gooey goodness, "I'll have hot cocoa please.

Mai tried to keep her knees from shaking but she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it. Her face went from peach to fire red in a heart beat, "Um..oh, okay." She managed to choke out, and wrote it down on the small white order pad. "And for you Keela?"

Keela didn't break her gaze from the possible demon in front of her, "Chocolate Café Latte." Mai walked away, but of course she had to stumble over her own feet before she did, almost making her fall.

Kurama of course, being the gentlemen and the prince of a high school, had caught her. His hand slid around her slim waist and his other hand held her arm, "Don't worry, I got you, are you okay?"

Mai's face lit up again and she quickly stood up pulling her pink uniform dress down nervously, "Oh! Yeah, sure I'm…fine…Thank you, heh, clumsy me!"

Kurama gave her worried look, "You sure you're okay."

She backed up awkwardly, "Yep, oh, right your coffee!" With that she ran off to the kitchen and they heard a loud band like a metal tray hitting a hard wood floor.

Kurama faced Keela again, "Your sister is very peculiar."

Keela ignored the remark and went straight to the point. He obviously didn't want to talk about this so she was going to have to make the first move. "Suichi, about that form that I found…"

Kurama put his hand up to stop her, "You want to know if it was real." She stared at him and nodded slowly waiting for him to go on. He sighed and shook his head, "Of all the people in the world, it had to be you to see it. It's amazing how powerful the chain of fate is."

Keela cocked an eyebrow as a someone put a romantic song on from the jukebox, "What do you mean?"

Kurama leaned back in his seat, "I just think it's interesting that you came to me rather than me approaching you. You see, my colleagues and I are in need of your expertise." At that moment Mai walked up and sat down their hot drinks. This was going to be next to impossible to converse things with her sister getting in the way. Why did she have to tell him to meet her at the place where Mai worked?

Mai looked at her bewildered by something, "Keela, are you okay? You seem flushed. Your not running a fever are you?" Ever since their Mother died, Mai's motherly instincts decided to kick into high gear. Now every time Keela sneezed Mai naturally thought she was going to die from a disease. It wasn't all bad though, it made skipping school easy.

Mai put her wrist to Keela's forehead and Keela pushed it away, "No, Mai, I'm fine."

Mai pushed her bangs out of her eyes, "Oh, well be sure to be home by eight o' clock tonight, okay? I don't want you staying up at all hours of the night like you have been lately, it's a school night. I won't be home until ten."

Keela sighed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know, I'll be home don't worry." They both watched her walk off to serve the table across from them. She glanced around the room nervously making sure no one was listening in, and leaned in speaking softly, "What do you mean by, 'my expertise'?"

Kurama's voice spoke an octave lower than normal giving his rich voice a slightly abrasive undertone to it, "You can speak demonic languages, yes?"

Keela narrowed her eyes disbelievingly, "How do you know that? Who told you?"

Kurama glanced over to Mai briefly who was explaining the specials of the day to a couple of older men, "I heard your sister mention something about it to a fellow classmate, now can you or not?"

She fiddled with her diamond earring and bit her lip, "Yeah, it's true I can, but only a few of them, why?"

He ignored her question and went on, "Which ones, may I ask?"

She sighed getting slightly aggravated, "I don't know, um, a little of Fyrian, Elvin, Triton.."

He cut her off, "Triton. You can speak Triton?"

She shook her head not sure why he was asking her these oddball questions. She just wanted to know if he was a demon or not. This was about him not her. She didn't want to tell him about her weird obsession. Especially not at a time like this. "Yeah, why? What does me speaking Triton have to do with anything?" He mumbled something to himself not hearing what she had previously said, "Look before I answer anymore questions, I have to know. Are you…" She wasn't quite sure if she could say the next word. It had been broiling deep inside her ever since she read that blasted Spirit World form. This was the mother of all questions. She gulped and said it, but it was barely a whisper, "Demon?"

Kurama jerked his head up and his eyes went a little smoky making her gasp with both fear and awe. They looked down at the table and his hair covered his eyes and he said the words that she knew would either turn her world upside down or make her look like a complete idiot. She held her breath waiting for his long awaited answer, "Yes." Her heart felt as if it was going to explode. she felt the pulse on her neck beat faster and faster as her breath grew more shallow. Her instincts turned out to be right. He looked up at her and she saw that the smoke in his eyes had not cleared, "But you knew that all already didn't you , Keela?"

She gulped, this was insane! He knew that she knew the whole time, "Not exactly, that's why I asked, to be sure." She paused, " Who are you exactly?"

She smiled coolly, "I'm not sure you would believe me."

She crossed her arms trying to be calm like he was, "You're Yoko Kurama aren't you?"

He narrowed his eyes and leaned back smirking, "You're quite clever, but I am curious as to how you knew that."

She scratched her head, "It's a long story."

He took a sip of his hot chocolate, "I am in no hurry." She sighed and after about ten minutes, she explained about the book that she had found in her basement five years ago, and how she had studied the languages written inside it. After she was done explaining everything, Kurama was real quiet. She thought that maybe he thought that she was lying. She was about to state that she wasn't when he spoke, "Have you shown anyone this book?" She shook her head no and he nodded, "Keela, we need your help."

She drank the last of her latte and cocked her head to the side, "Who's we?"

"Hiei, Gouki, and I."

"Who are they?"

He hesitated but only for a moment, "They are other demon thieves, and we want to steal the darkness artifacts from Spirit World, will you help us?"

She put her hand to her mouth in surprise. Was he serious? Did he really just ask her to help him steal artifacts from the Spirit World? A World that she just found out existed just thirty seconds ago? She couldn't believe it, "You can't be serious…why?"

He sighed, "It's simple. I need The Forlorn Hope. It's a mirror that grants you one wish, and I need it to save my dying mother." A couple walked passed them and he went quite for a moment, "I couldn't do it on my own so I joined their alliance. But there's a problem. One of the entrances requires a translation, and it's in Triton. So we need you to get us in." Keela's head was starting to spin, and she couldn't think straight. She hadn't realized it, but she was shaking all over, trembling from a sea of different feelings and emotions. This was all getting to be way too much for her to handle. She knew she had to get some air before she threw up. Without warning she stood up and rushed outside quickly and leaned against a wall away from any windows. She closed her eyes tightly taking huge deep breaths. This time instead of the cold air making her life miserable, it was helping her get through this bizarre predicament. She wasn't sure what to do. At that moment she felt a strong hand touch her shoulder, and she knew who it was before he even spoke, "You don't have to give me an answer right away Keela. But I must warn you. Hiei and Gouki will not be pleased to hear that you won't help us. They will do anything to get those artifacts. And I mean _anything_."

She opened her eyes trying not to imagine them hurting her family because of her, "I'll try to make a decision soon." Was all she could say.

She heard him start to walk away, his shoes hitting the ground with grace, "I'll see you at school tomorrow then." She looked back to tell him to wait but he was all ready gone. This was definitely not what she had expected. All she wanted was to know some information about the demon world, not to be caught up in some crime spree. She gasped and quickly realized that she had run out without paying the bill, "Oh no.." She scurried back inside and saw that money was on the table for her to pay. She sat down and stared straight ahead of her. She was right about another thing. Her world was definitely turned upside down. She had to make a decision that would change her life forever. Mai walked over to her and Keela said without any emotion in her voice, "Check Please."

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The end!! *Sigh* Man I've been typing for hours!! I'm so exhausted. But at least I finally got another chapter up. All thanks to my friend Janine, Drew, and Katie. Janine wrote the whole Mai and Sai entrance, cause she created those characters lol. My friend Drew helped me to get ideas flowing to my head, cause I had major writer's block. So anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up, but I'm starting college on Monday, so I don't know how much free time I'll have. My best friend Katie left for college yesterday and I was upset about it, but I guess I'll end up meeting new people on Monday. Well I hoped you liked this chapter. I tried to make it long. Well goodnight!!


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